Tried Garden Grill for Dinner!
Hi Guys,
I went to Garden Grill for dinner tonight. I was really excited about it. It has always been one of my favorite character meals and a staple of mine when I am in EPCOT.
I had my son (12) with me , my brother (27), and his girlfriend (both of whom are Disney newbies).
When we got to the Land pavilion around 7:10p a cast member was standing outside telling people that the Land was closed. When I mentioned that I was told that the Garden Grille would be open for Dinner, he let us go in.
The rest of the building was indeed closed so the restaurant which was on soft opening (no priority seating, only walk up) was only half full.
Characters - The characters were indeed out in force. The usual cast, Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale. They were extremely playful tonight, and one of the waitresses was in with the act making it a very fun meal. This is one of my favorite things about this restaurant.
<img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y152/cindy_k/CIMG0957.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">
The Food... It was definitely different.
Bread - They bring out a Breadstick plate with 3 dipping sauces, a cheese sauce, an oil/herb dip, and hummus. I tried all three and found them tasty.
Salad - Next came a family bowl of salad for everyone to share. It had a tasty vingrette on it. There were little pieces of walnuts in it. It had romaine and spinach in it, no iceburg in sight. Which worked for us.
Main Course -You then choose from the menu items that were posted earlier.
http://allearsnet.com/menu/menu_gg.htm
I had the Ravioli - It was good.
My son had the Steak with Mash potatoes - It was good.
My Brother had the Chicken - It was good too.
Girlfriend had the Steak. She didn't care for the sauce which seems to be wine based. So she ate more salad, which we were able to get a second bowl of.
Drinks - We ordered some smoothies which were enjoyed.
Dessert - This was a chocolate fondu. It had Strawberries, Pineapple, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Brownies, Lemon Cake, Marshmellows and Gummie worms for everyone to dip into the Chocolate sauce. There wasn't anything left on the plate when we were done.
Mural - I really really miss the Sunflowers. When I saw the pictures of the Garden Grill online, I thought, "hmm, new mural looks ok." <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y152/cindy_k/ggmural1.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">
Sitting next to it, I now say. "Yuck! Sunflowers were much nicer." At least the mural on the Outerwall in the back of the restaurant is still there.
<img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y152/cindy_k/ggorigmural2.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">
Noise - They seem to have turned up the Volume for the Living with the Land sound track. It made hearing the voice track harder to hear when we rode it earlier in the day, and it makes the restaurant noiser. It was only half full of people and I noted the increase in volume, I am not sure when it will sound like when all the table are full.
Overall it was an enjoyable meal. Since I don't have a problem with the food and love the character interaction here, I will be back.
Signing off from Saratoga Springs Resort (my home away from home)
My favorite place to eat at Epcot. I loved the menu and the sunflowers. We ate there the last day they were open on our last trip at Christmas time. The new menu does not really appeal to me. Bring back the old menu 
